Joint construction for angular members



April 21, 1953- F. M. CROOK JOINT CONSTRUCTION FOR ANGULAR MEMBERS FiledMarch 12, 1949 IN VEN TOR. FHANK'M CREEK.

ATTYS.

Patented Apr. 21, 1953 JOINT CONSTRUCTION FOR ANGULAR MEMBERS Frank M.Crook, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Toledo Desk & Fixture Corporation, acorporation of Ohio Application March 12, 1949, Serial No. 81,148

This invention relates particularly to a wateror moistureproofjointconstruction between the tops and backs or sides of sink counters, worktables or the like, and has for its object the provision of animprovedjoint construction of this character, whereby the joint issimple and inexpensive in construction, sanitary in its nature, free ofseams and has a smooth external appearance.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description, and from the accompanying drawings,illustrating one embodiment of the invention, in which- Fig. 1 is aperspective view of a sink or lavatory and counter embodying theinvention in the angle between the back and counter members thereof andwith a part broken away; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showingthe manner of acting on the counter back and top material preparatory toplacing said parts in angular jointforming relation: Fig. 3 is anenlarged section on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a fragmentarysection of the material from which the jointed parts are made.

Referring to the drawings, l designates a structure of the typegenerally used in bathrooms or kitchens and which has respective countertop and splash back parts 2 and 3, and has a sink or basin 4 mounted inan opening in the top.

In carrying out the invention, the top and splash back parts 2 and 3 aremade in integral form from laminated sheet material 5. such as shown inenlarged section in Fig. 4. This material comprises a plurality of thinsheets of wood or other suitable material 6 cemented together to form alaminated body structure, and one side of this body is faced withflexible sheet material 1 adhesively united thereto in any suitablemanner. This facing, which may be of any material suitable for thepurpose, may be coated as at 8 on its outer side with any suitableplastic to give it a smooth and finished appearance and of the desiredcolor.

In preparing the sheet material to form the angle joint between the topand bottom sections 2 and 3 in which the principal feature of thepresent invention resides, the rigid or stiff body part B is cut throughalong the line of the desired angle, as for instance by a rotary saw ormilling cutter [0, to form a furrow I I the bottom of which is formed bythe flexible sheet I. This having been done, the sheet I with itscoating 8, if applied thereto, is bent along the line of the furrow soas to move the furrow walls away from 2 Claims. (Cl. 20-92) 2 l 1 eachother and position the two sections 2 and. 3 of the sheet 5 at thedesired angle to each other, a right-angle in the present instance. -Inthis manner, the flexible sheet 1, with or without its coating 8, formsa moisture-tight joint or connection between the two sections, as shownin Figs. 1 and 3.

When the sections 2 and 3 have been positioned in the desired angularrelation, they are rigidly braced and retained in such relation by innerand outer angular reinforcing brackets l2 and I3, respectively. Theinner bracket 12 comprises a strip of metal or other suitable stiffmaterial having a cross-sectional shape suitable to fit into theexpanded furrow ID with its side flanges bearing against and secured byscrews M, or in any other suitable manner, to the respective side wallsof the furrow. The apex portion of the bracket 12 is externally recessedlengthwise thereof to receive and form a support or backing for therounded portion of the facing sheet 1. The outer angle bracket or strip(3, which may be of any suitable stiff material, fits over andcloses'the furrow It! at the outer side of the bracket strip I2 with itsflanges lapping and secured fiat to the outer sides of the sections 2and 3 at opposite sides of the furrow by screws 15. While it ispreferred to make the inner bracing members l2 continuous, the outerbrackets l3 may be discontinuous, depending on the load to be expectedon the finished article. Thus, occasional angle braces may be used inplace of a continuous angle strip.

This arrangement forms a simple and inexpensive structure suitable forva sink counter and back with the two parts integrally and rigidlyconnected and forming an angle joint therebetween which is impervious tomoisture and to the collection of germs and is thus rendered high- 1yefficient and sanitary in use.

I wish it understood that the invention is not restricted to anyparticular construction, arrangement or form of the parts, or to the useof any particular material in the parts, but is capable of numerousmodifications and changes without departing from the spirit of theclaims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent, is:

1. A structure of the class described having angularly disposed sectionsand comprising sheet material with a rigid body part and a flexiblefront facing that is impervious to moisture, said rigid body part beingseparated along a straight line into two sections and said flexiblefront facing being bent along said line with the two sections inpredetermined angular relation one to the other, reinforcing meanscomprising an inner L-shaped bracket member the legs of which arerigidly connected to the inner edges of the two rigid body sections atthe rear of the flexible facing,-said bracket being coextensive inlength with said sections, a larger Lshaped bracket member the legs ofwhich extend around and beyond the inner L-shaped bracket member, saidlegs of the larger L-shaped bracketmember being secured to the back ofthe rigid body sections at points removed from said inner edges of saidbody sections.

2. A structure of the class described having angularly disposed sectionsand comprising laminated sheet material forming a-rigid body part and aflexible front facing that is impervious to moisture, said rigid bodypart being separated along a straight line into two sections and said,flexibleiront-facing being on and conneetingthe sinner adjacent sidesof said sections and being tbeht along saidiline with the two rigidsections in predetermined angular relation one to the other, reinforcingmeans comprising a smaller inner L-shaped bracket the legs of which are.inner L-shaped bracket member and are attached to the back of the rigidbody sections at points removed from said inner edges of said bodysections.

FRANK M. CROOK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,630,858 Meyercord May 31, 1927 1,644,910 Bohn Oct. 11, 1927$325,528 McGowan July 27, 1943 2,539,463 Norquist Jan. 30, 1951 .FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 15 ,533 Great Britain of .1899 464,145GreatzBritain.-- of'l937

